Hooray! First Genuinely Good Employment Report of the Recovery!

BLS:

Employment Situation Summary: Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the
unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent….

The unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point in January to 8.3 percent…. In January, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs fell to 7.3 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 5.5 million and accounted for 42.9 percent of the unemployed…. [T]he employment-population ratio (58.5 percent) rose in January, while the civilian labor force participation rate held at 63.7 percent….

In January, 2.8 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey….

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January. Private-sector employment grew by 257,000, with the largest employment gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Government employment was little changed over the month….

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged…. [A]verage hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $23.29. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 1.9 percent….

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for November was revised from +100,000 to +157,000, and the change for December was revised from +200,000 to +203,000. Monthly revisions result from
additional sample reports and the monthly recalculation of seasonal factors…

Comments

Employment Situation Summary: Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the
unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent….

The unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point in January to 8.3 percent…. In January, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs fell to 7.3 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 5.5 million and accounted for 42.9 percent of the unemployed…. [T]he employment-population ratio (58.5 percent) rose in January, while the civilian labor force participation rate held at 63.7 percent….

In January, 2.8 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey….

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January. Private-sector employment grew by 257,000, with the largest employment gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Government employment was little changed over the month….

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged…. [A]verage hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $23.29. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 1.9 percent….

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for November was revised from +100,000 to +157,000, and the change for December was revised from +200,000 to +203,000. Monthly revisions result from
additional sample reports and the monthly recalculation of seasonal factors…

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